By Communication Consultant Grace Kwon (Finance, ’23)

Xinyi Cui: Xinyi Cui is one of the current communication consultants at the Rauch Center for Business Communications who has been working at the center for three years now. As a new communication consultant, I had the opportunity to interview her and gain a better insight into how communication consultants serve Lehigh’s College of Business undergraduates. Here is what she had to say: 

(The interview has been slightly edited for brevity and clarity.)

1. First, to start off the interview, I want to ask you: what made you want to work as a communication consultant?

The Rauch Business Center for Communications was actually just starting to offer the consultants program, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to apply for this communication consultant position that they were offering. I thought that this job would be the perfect opportunity for me to offer my new, innovative ideas. Also, business communications, in general, is a huge deal, so as a business student, I wanted to contribute my efforts and help other students. After working here at the center for three years now, I believe that I have made a lot of contributions, one being writing blog articles, which are great resources for business students! I also just finished an internship as a marketing research intern that was heavily related to business communications, so I do think that this internship demonstrates how I’ve personally benefited from the role. 

2. When you began working this job, what did you expect to get out of it? 

In the beginning, I honestly did not have any expectations since the center was quite new. At first, I thought it was similar to the writing centers here on campus, but later on, after working this job, I have realized that it is quite different. Along with this, I expected to be able to apply my leadership skills to this job, whether this be thinking of new ideas for projects, executing these projects, etc.

3. How do you think communication consultants at RCBC have helped students? 

First, we help a lot of first-year business students with their assignments/projects for their introductory business courses (e.g. BUS 001, BUS 003). While working here, I have realized that one of the challenges the freshman and sophomores have is not knowing what the audience is exactly looking for. Communication consultants are able to help students better understand what the audience exactly wants. Also, since we (the consultants) have more experience with writing, presentations, etc., we can help the freshmen and sophomores with the knowledge that we have accumulated over the years. 

4. How have you changed as a communication consultant from year 1 to year 3?

In year 1, I did not have a lot of experience with tutoring, so I was super nervous about becoming a tutor/peer advisor for other students. English is not my native language, so I was honestly not confident that I could effectively help others. However, now in year 3, after assisting students with their writing, I believe that I have helped them more than I expected I could. More specifically, I think I am best at helping students structure their essays in an organized manner and guiding them on how to thoroughly answer all the questions in the prompt. Overall, I am definitely more confident now than I was in year 1.

5. What has been your favorite part of working at RCBC?

My favorite part of working here has been bringing in new project ideas and making these ideas into a reality. The coordinator and director here at the Center have assisted me with bringing these ideas into life/something tangible. Also, another favorite part is talking with other business students; I especially enjoy talking and interacting with the students who frequently visit the center.

6. What has been your favorite project thus far?

My favorite project has been creating the visualization guides. In these guides, we have written about topics such as how to make a PowerPoint. Before writing about this topic, I had to research beforehand, and by researching, I have learned, myself, what a “good” PowerPoint entails. By writing about this topic and providing it as a resource for others, I have noticed that I am not only helping others, but also helping myself. 

7. Have you faced any challenges working this job, and how did you overcome these challenges?

A challenge that I am currently facing is regarding the current project about the “Job Keywords Dictionary.” Since I have never learned the coding language that is required for this project, it has been a challenging task. Although I am not completely finished with this project, I have been trying my best. Additionally, a general challenge working as a consultant is that different students have their own different issues regarding their assignments. For me, I have an idea in my mind of what a “perfect” essay looks like; however, some students who come in for consultations do not have the same idea as I do. To overcome this challenge, I have made an effort to understand the students’ ideas and assist them as much as possible. 

8. What have you specifically learned from doing this job for the past three years?

From doing this job, I have learned the importance of storytelling. This may be a cultural difference, but in Mandarin, when you write an analysis, it is more focused on having a core idea and writing about different perspectives–these ideas don’t necessarily have to be connected with each other. However, in English, you have to connect each argument in each paragraph, so I have realized the importance of making sure all these ideas connect for the sake of storytelling.

Get information and resources about our center at The Philip Rauch Center for Business Communication.